SHC rejects Dr Asim’s plea seeking removal of his name from ECL

Former federal petroleum minister had also sought the return of his Pakistani and Canadian passports in his petition

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) rejected on Monday Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Karachi President and a former federal minister Dr Asim Hussain’s petition that sought the return of his Pakistani and Canadian passports and the removal of his name from the exit control list (ECL).

A two-judge bench, headed by Justice Muhammad Junaid Ghaffar, announced its verdict which was reserved on May 26 after hearing the arguments of the lawyers representing the petitioner, the deputy attorney general and the National Accountability Bureau’s special prosecutor.

“As the other prayer regarding memorandum dated November 24, 2015 is concerned, since the name of the petitioner is now placed on the ECL on the basis of an order passed by this court while granting bail to the petitioner and which we have maintained by dismissing the miscellaneous application, no further adjudication on the said memorandum is required,” the court ruled in its 14-page order.



Dr Asim, a former federal petroleum minister and a close aide of former president Asif Ali Zardari, had moved the court seeking the return of his passports from the SHC’s Nazir (official) and directives to the interior ministry to take his name off the ECL to travel abroad for medical treatment.

His lawyers, Lateef Khosa, Anwar Mansoor Khan and Qadir Mandokhel, argued that initially Rangers had taken him into preventive custody for 90 days under the Section 11EEEE of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 in August 2015. Later, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) authorities had taken him into their custody though no inquiry, investigation or reference was pending against him.



They argued that during this period, Dr Asim's name was put on the ECL through a letter dated November 24, 2015 and two corruption references were filed against him in which the SHC had also granted him bail.

They added that the high court had granted him bail on November 1 last year in a case relating to the treatment of terrorists at his chain of private hospitals in Karachi and the ATC concerned had permitted him to travel abroad for medical treatment.

They contended the medical reports of the petitioner on the basis of which he was granted bail by the SHC clearly suggested that he was suffering from a number of diseases.